A spokeswoman for the Nor’Wester Mountain Escarpment Protection Committee says she’s ecstatic to learn it appears Horizon Wind Inc.’s planned turbine farm in Thunder Bay is dead in the water.

Irene Bond said she learned on Friday that the Ontario Power Authority had cancelled the Toronto-based company’s feed-in tariff contract, essentially ending the agreement to sell energy to the provincial grid.

Bond said the news caught her off guard.

“If this is the news that will end this project, that the FIT contract is indeed cancelled for the whole project, yeah it is a surprise and a very welcome one,” she said.

“I’m just thrilled that this will finally be over. We’ve been at it for five years as a community grass-roots group to educate people about the destruction and the history of the land and that it deserves better than to be industrialized.”

The OPA confirmed the contract cancellation via email on Friday, citing project delays as the main reason for the decision.

“The Big Thunder Wind Park project was significantly delayed due to force majeure events,” OPA spokeswoman Mary Bernard said. “Under a FIT contract, either party to the contract has the right to terminate the contract if force majeure events delay a project past 24 months. The OPA terminated the Big Thunder Park project for this reason.”

According to Bernard, a force majeure is a stipulation in a contract that provides relief to a party when events beyond their control prevent them from fulfilling certain contractual obligations. But it also specifies a time limit to get things back on track.

“The OPA cannot provide details of the force majeure events due to confidentiality obligations under the contract,” Bernard said.

It’s unclear if there is an appeal process available to Horizon at this time.

Horizon Wind released a brief statement saying they have provided notice of dispute to the OPA on their decision to end the contract.

“Pending resolution of the disputed issues, Horizon Wind is evaluating its options,” the statement reads.

The project was first approved by Thunder Bay city council in 2007.

A dispute with the city led to Horizon in 2010 filing a $126-million lawsuit against the municipality when council refused to approve certain turbine locations.

The city later backed down and the lawsuit was tossed.

More recently Fort William First Nation filed a judicial review against the Ministry of the Environment asking for all work on the project to stop until the community had been properly consulted.

The FWFN claim alleged the province failed to consult them about the project itself and the company’s 2013 renewable energy approval.

Fort William First Nation Chief Georjann Morriseau was unavailable for comment on Friday afternoon. However, City of Thunder Bay officials said they are looking into the legal implications of the decision, after learning of it that morning.

“The City of Thunder Bay did not receive any advance notice of the termination of this contract between the OPA and Big Thunder Wind Park LP,” said city manager Tim Commisso in a release. “We are looking into the implications and will provide an update to city council when we know more.”

Mayor Keith Hobbs had little to say.

“I have no comment at this time,” he said.

Minister of Natural Resources Bill Mauro said he was advised two or three days ago through the Ministry of Energy that the contract was being terminated.

Mauro, a longtime opponent of the project, was coy in his reaction when asked Friday morning.

“My position on it has been well known,” Mauro said. “This is an OPA decision. The Ontario Power Authority has informed me … they’re not going through with the project and I think that we’re all going to move forward from there.”

Nor’Wester Mountain Range and Loch Lomond Watershed Reserve

This pristine cultural and natural landscape is the site of a proposed industrial wind turbine development—another potential victim of the provincial government’s crusade for renewable energy projects at any cost.

Why it matters

The ancient Nor’Wester Mountain Range rises dramatically above Lake Superior and extends southward from the city of Thunder Bay toward the Ontario-Minnesota border. It defines the city’s setting and skyline, and is immensely important to the Anishinabe community of the Fort William First Nation (FWFN). Mount McKay (“Thunder Mountain” or Animikii-wajiwin Ojibwe) has been a landmark gathering place by the Ojibwe Anishinabeg for many generations. Their presence at this locale long predates the arrival of European traders who established trading posts nearby, first in 1684 during the New France era and again in 1803 with the construction of the North West Company’s Fort William. The range provides habitat that is essential to moose, Eastern cougar, and other flora and fauna unique to this provincially important ecosystem, and the Loch Lomond watershed is an important freshwater resource for the region.

The range remains important for cultural, ecological and aesthetic reasons and plays a vital role in the area’s recreational and tourism economy.

Why it’s endangered

Horizon Wind Inc. is proposing the development of an industrial wind turbine installation called Big Thunder Wind Farm on a portion of the Nor’Wester Mountain Range land owned by the City of Thunder Bay (located between and on the Loch Lomond Watershed, First Nation Traditional Territory and the provincially declared Area of Natural and Scientific Interest), a project that would see sixteen 139-metre-high, 32-megawatt wind turbines erected on the Nor’Wester’s skyline south of Mount McKay.

FWFN believes the wind farm project will have a deleterious effect on the watershed, on the long-standing cultural heritage values of its people, and on essential habitat.

Where things stand

The Nor’Wester Mountain Escarpment Protection Committee (NMEPC) was created in 2009 with the mission to “protect the Nor’Wester Mountain Escarpment from development that has the potential to harm the natural environment and the health of the residents.”

Although the project was first conceived in 2005, members of FWFN and Signatories of the Robinson Superior Treaty have expressed concern that the “duty to consult” was not undertaken to their satisfaction by either the proponent company or the Crown.

Despite FWFN’s objections, the Renewable Energy Approval (REA) process (established under the Environmental Protection Act)proceeded, with the comment period ending in June 2013.

In May 2014, Horizon Wind Inc. filed an application for a judicial review in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice with the aim of compelling the Ministry of the Environment to issue the REA, but the court declined to intervene in the project.

In June 2014, FWFN filed for an injunction against the Ministry of the Environment and other provincial ministries to prevent the Province from allowing activity on their Treaty Lands and from issuing a REA for the Big Thunder Wind Project until a commitment is made to protect their Treaty Rights. Meanwhile, it is reported that Ontario’s legal counsel continues to oppose delaying the final approval process or disclosing requested project information on the grounds that it would impede the final project approval decision-making process.

A Town Hall Meeting with Thunder Bay-Atikokan Candidates has been scheduled for June 2nd, hosted by Fort William First Nation, Residents of Neebing Ward, Municipality of Neebing, and the Nor’Wester Mountain Escarpment Protection Committee (NMEPC).

Come out and listen to questions/answers on important issues facing our community. Positions regarding the Horizon Wind Project on the Nor’Wester Mountains and Loch Lomond Watershed will be at the forefront.

Event
Monday, June 2, 2014
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Nor’Wester Resort Hotel

Hwy 61

Doors will open at 6:30 pm

Format

Each candidate (without the others present) will have 5 minutes for an opening statement.

Four questions will be asked from the Hosts.

Candidate will have 2 min to answer each question.

Candidate will leave and the process wil be repeated for the next candidates.

All candidates will return together for 1 hour of open questions from the floor.

Sun News Network will air the television premiere of the documentary film DOWN WIND on Wednesday, June 4 at 8:00 p.m. ET and 11:00 p.m. ET.

DOWN WIND is a tell-all film that deals head on with how Ontario politicians rammed through green energy laws and dashed forward with the installation of thousands of wind turbines across the province’s farmland and countryside.

The film exposes how the lights of liberty went out for Ontario citizens deeply opposed to wind turbine projects. It tells the stories of communities torn apart, and the rural warriors now fighting for their rights, health and happiness.

There are two very special events coming up, and you are invited to attend.

1. All Candidates Town Hall Meeting The Provincial Election is on Thursday, June 12, 2014. The energy issue is paramount in this election: everything from cost of electricity to homeowners to industrial wind turbines where communities don’t want them.
We have arranged an All Candidates Town Hall Meeting for Monday, June 2nd 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Nor’Wester Hotel HWY 61 Doors open at 6:30 pm

2. Fundraising Pre-election BBQ Tuesday, June 10th 6p.m. – 9p.m. Neebing Road House (more info to follow) We’ve been at this for over 4 years and your continued involvement and support are the reasons we still stand strong. The next few weeks will yield critical outcomes and once again we call on everyone for your support. Hope to see you all there.

The focus will be the Article 78 proceedings sought by Save Ontario Shores, which has asked the court to annul a June 11 Town Board resolution granting a special use permit for the data-collection structure, the voiding of a building permit and declaration that the resolution violated the state’s law classifying the environmental review for the project.

Bourne selectmen for a second month are still not yet prepared to grant a road-alteration easement that would facilitate delivery of turbine apparatus to the Future Wind Generation project being built at Keith Mann’s cranberry acreage in Head of the Bay near the South Plymouth line.

Scotland used to be a remarkably wild, unspoilt place. Not any more, though. There’s now only 40 per cent of Scotland left where wind turbines are not blighting the view. (And already that figure is out of date because lots more turbines have sprung up since like skeletons in Jason of the Argonauts, and many more are planned). And let’s not forget the human […]